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Aurora theater shooting documents: Doctor reported James Holmes was threat to public

Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes sits next to defense attorney Tamara Brady in the courtroom during his arraignment on March 12. (Denver Post file photo)

CENTENNIAL — Soon after a gunman killed 12 people and wounded at least 58 others in a darkened movie theater, University of Colorado Denver police officer Lynn Whitten told an Aurora investigator that the suspect's psychiatrist had warned her of his danger to the public, according to a search warrant unsealed Thursday.

Whitten, told Aurora investigator Will Hinton that she had been advised by Dr. Lynne Fenton that "through her contact with James Holmes, she was reporting, per her requirement, his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made," the warrant says.

Whitten said Fenton had reported that "she had been treating Holmes and that Holmes had stopped seeing her and had begun threatening her via text message," the affidavit says.

On July 21, Aurora Police Sgt. Bob Wesner spoke with Whitten. She advised him that Fenton had reported the threats by Holmes on June 12, 2012 and she had deactivated his student ID — which gave him access to buildings on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus — that same day.

The documents, sealed by Judge William Sylvester shortly after Holmes was arrested related to the July 20 shooting at the Century Aurora 16 theater, were unsealed by the new judge in the case Thursday afternoon.

Several media outlets, including The Denver Post and 9News, sued to have the documents released, arguing that the contents of the warrants and affidavits had likely been made public over the past eight months and were presented in court hearings, including the three-day preliminary hearing in January. It was during the preliminary hearing that Sylvester ruled there was enough evidence to try Holmes.

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Prosecutors and defense attorneys objected to the release of the documents.

Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr., who took over the case on April 1, wrote in his decision that the First Amendment rights of the media petitioners and the public outweighed Holmes lawyers concerns that release of the documents would keep him from getting a fair trial. Likewise, he wrote that the prosecution had not proved that their case would be harmed by making the documents public.

According to the search warrant, when police approached Holmes in back of the Century Aurora 16 early the morning of July 20, they asked who else was with him. He told them: "It is just me."

There are no other details from that initial interview included in the unsealed documents.

Holmes also spoke briefly with detectives at Aurora Police headquarters. That interview was recorded, but ended when he asked for an attorney.

The documents also describe the notebook Holmes mailed the Fenton at her CU office. The brown spiral notebook, with a place to write a name and course subject on the cover, was labeled with Holmes' name and the words "Of Life" on the course line.

The envelope containing the notebook was opened under a portable venting hood and found not to contain hazardous substances.

The bomb technician thought the notebook appeared to be a journal because it contained "unknown writings."

The documents also include an inventory of items found in Holmes' Aurora apartment. They include a receipt for an online movie ticket purchase, a Batman mask, index cards with chemical formulas written on them and a supply list. Police also found medications in his apartment, including ibuprofen, sedatives and the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam.

Holmes, who is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder, is accused of opening fire on a midnight premiere of the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises."

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